fenyx66

I had no idea there was such a thing as ginko poisoning. I was taught, by a lady at the board of education, to put them into a paper envelope and fold it over so that it won't open up. And stick it in the microwave until you hear them explode (or am I confusing this with popcorn). Anyway, once you hear them explode once, you take them out of the microwave and then beat the bag to break open the shells (you can use a rolling pin) and then you eat the smelly delicious goodnes inside (salt is definitely recommended). you can also do it stovetop. I also like them in chawan mushi, but grilled and salted is nice. I'll be sure not to get poisoned though (yikes!).

There is a restaurant chain called Oogiya yakitori, and there tare is really nice (as well as the salt) and they have one called the kankokukaramiso, which is Spicy Korean miso yakitori and it is highly addictive. Also, in Akihabara, there is a yakitori joint near the new Tsukuba Express exit/entrance and they have nice yakitori and and a pretty big menu with lots of good food. But they cook the yakitori in the window just to lure you in. They also have an English menu, but they don't really speak it.

Ok, I am going to add some of my combini favorites. Lawson Pizza-man are awesome for a quick snack or breakfast, I have to use a lot of self control or I would eat them all the time. 7/11 used to have rice and tonkatsu with a curry over it. That was really good, but I haven't seen them in 2005. 7/11's oden is pretty good, but kind of salty, they also have some really nice tan tan men in giant red and black bowl that you cook at home, those are really good, but I think they are seasonal because I haven't seen those in a while too. There is a new Karubi stamina beef bowl that has a good flavor but the meat is sometimes tough and too fatty.

I love burgers too, and when I go into Tokyo, that's what I end up eating. I find that Hard Rock has an excellent burger. It tastes like a homemade burger and the toasted bun is really nice. Their Hickory BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger rocks!!! I am so hungry right now. I also go to TGIF and their burgers are ok, their fries and onion rings are really good. Also, their Jack Daniel's ribs are great. I must find that kua'aina that you guys were talking about. Sounds great!

I don't really have much to contribute to this topic that hasn't already been said, but I have heard tales of a Gyoza land there from my coworkers. I am a JET in Gunma-ken but I go to Tochigi a lot, because my town in Gunma is on the border of saitama, Ibaraki, and Tochigi. I have a good friend named Sonny (sp?) from India who runs a popular Indian restaurant in Sano, Tochigi. If you are ever near Sano, there is a mall, movie theater, Subway sandwich shop, outlet mall, and a yamaya. If you can't go to Tokyo, then this would be the nearest place for you to go to buy clothing and some international food items. Utsonomiya is about 25 miles from Sano by the Tohoku Expressway and about 35 miles from where I live (just outside of Tatebayashi). If you get a car (in rural areas it is almost a necessity) you can easily get there. I have been wanting to get up to Utsonomiya to eat some gyoza and see the giant statue of Kannon for a long time. As for cooking, I also have the 2 burners and tiny fish grill dealy in my house. I find that it is adequate. I also have a toaster over which I mostly use to toast bread and mochi. Recently, I have seen english muffins popping up at my local grocery store and with them I make mini-pizzas. I have also found little muffin tins at Kaldi and some muffin mix. If I keep my baking down to one or 2 muffins, I can make almost anything. Although a roasted turkey or something would have been nice for Thanksgiving, but that's what Costco is for. They sell rotisseried chickens. I don't really have any cookbooks, but I have found recipes on the internet and made those (like Torakris' nikujaga which I made last night, and it was delicious) and I have asked my friends for recipes or to teach me how to cook something. This is a great way to practice Japanese, build friendships and learn to cook homestyle Japanese food at the same time. My friends also help me get around the grocery store. When I first moved here I found it depressing to go to the grocery store because all the ingredients were foreign to me and I couldn't read anything. It was kind of like that scene in the Grudge. I am at work right now and there is nothing to do, so I could keep typing forever. Also, if you don't already know, then I would recommend learning to read hiragana and katakana before coming, I took a Japanese course in college and was thankful that I knew at least that much. Although this page is designed for kids, it's helped me out a little http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/ Good luck!

I went to my stash of hichew and all I had was lychee and green apple. unfortunately I have already finished off all of my pear and I don't remember if it was western or Japanese pear. It was good though and next time I find myself in Fukushima I will pick up a couple of packs and report back. I finished off the green apple and haven't started on the lychee yet, but I have had it before and it was pretty good. Thanks for the welcome. This is a great place for ideas, in fact, as soon as I get off my couch, I am going into the kitchen and trying to make torakris' niku jyaga. I bought all the ingredients the other day.

I would bring back a bottle of Nihonshu from the Ryujin Nihonshu brewery in Tatebayashi-shi, Gunma (it's really nice and inexpensive sake) And maybe an assortment of Yakiniku sauces, I'm not sure I can get those in the states. When I go home to visit for Christmas, I will discover what I miss the most and keep a record of it.

So much information. This is an excellent resource. The only stores that we have in my area (southeast Gunma) are Yamaya and Kaldi. There is a large community of Latin-Americans in Oizumi/Ota Area (around Nishi-koizumi station on the Tobu line) and there are a bunch of small stores selling all things latin. I can't be any more specific, but if you are ever in the area and happen to have an urgent need for arroz y habichuelas (Rice and beans) I know where you can find it.

Some of my favorite drinks are nihonshu (sake), and some of the beers are pretty good (Suntory Malt's and Kirin Classic Lager) but are really filling. At 7/11 Suntory has some frozen pouch cocktail drinks that are pretty nice for the summer like a frozen screwdriver, strawberry diaquiri etc. As for non-alcohol I really like Calpis and Active Diet Aquarius. I have been seeing a Muscat Sparkling drink in the cola section lately, has anyone tried it? If I see it again, I will try it and take a picture of the bottle.

I am addicted to Hichew. I found Pear flavored hichew in Fukushima-ken on my camping trip to Bandai-san. (The horse meat up there is amazing) Someone mentioned Coolish a couple of posts back, the vanilla and chocolate flavors are really nice, but the peach and strawberry are really disappointing. I haven't tried the cappucino or other flavors yet. Some of my favorite snacks are Choco-corn (チョコ　コーン）, dried squid jerky with a dip made of mayo and shichimi, Takoyaki, and (I forgot what the brand name is but they sell them in 7/11 and some grocery stores) the little box filled with bite size ice cream balls. This summer they had mixed fruit flavor and macha flavor, and now they have cafe au lait flavor. Has anyone else tried them?

I love Okonomiyaki. Adding kimchi sounds great, I must try it. My favorite topping is mochi and cheese. The soft warm mochi, that is slightly crispy from where it has touched the grill, mixed with the delicious melted white cheese are excellent. If it hasn't been suggested yet, I recommend this. Of course the sauce, katsuobushi and nori sprinkles are a must on all okonomiyaki.